Do I have to take Plavix® off before dental surgery?
The dentist will tell you if and when Plavix® has to be discontinued before a tooth intervention such as tooth extraction. If necessary, he will decide in consultation with the family doctor when the medication should no longer be taken. Under no circumstances should you stop taking the medication on your own initiative. It is also particularly important to inform the dentist in good time if you are taking Plavix® or any other blood-thinning medication. It is best to do this as soon as the medication is prescribed and not only when a dental intervention is imminent.
How much does Plavix® cost?
The price of Plavix® is usually between 100 and 300 euros for 100 tablets. However, it is a prescription drug, the costs of which are fully covered by health insurance if the indication is justified. The price of Plavix® is significantly higher compared to some other antiplatelet drugs. However, there are also drugs with the same active ingredient from other manufacturers that are significantly cheaper (from 50 euros for 100 tablets).
What alternatives do I have to Plavix®?
In addition to Plavix® there are other drugs containing the active ingredient clopidogrel. These can be taken in the same dosage as an equivalent alternative. There are also drugs from the group of antiplatelet drugs that have a slightly different active ingredient, such as prasugrel.
Whether such drugs are an alternative to Plavix® must be determined by the treating physician. Taking one or two platelet inhibitors is not recommended, as they have been shown to have a protective effect on vascular occlusion and thus, for example, heart attacks and strokes. Marcumar®, with its active ingredient phenprocoumon, is also a blood-thinning drug, but it intervenes in the blood clotting cascade via a different mechanism of action.
There are therefore medical indications for which it is better to take Plavix® or better Marcumar®. When taking Marcumar®, blood coagulation must be regularly checked by a family doctor by means of a blood test and the dose adjusted. This is not necessary with Plavix®.
The drug Xarelto® is one of the so-called new or direct oral anticoagulants (“blood thinners”). It works by directly inhibiting an important factor in blood coagulation, thus preventing the formation of clots in the blood vessels. Plavix®, on the other hand, intervenes in the coagulation cascade by inhibiting the blood platelets. The indications for the two drugs also differ due to their different modes of action.Xarelto® is therefore not generally an alternative to Plavix®, but the physician will decide on the appropriate drug depending on the patient and his or her condition.
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